合成器/采样器/音源/音色

THE STORY

Our goal with Tokyo Scoring Strings is to give you the orchestral string sound that has been heard across innumerable world-famous Japanese productions. It features five independently recorded sections (Violins 1, Violins 2, Viola, Cello, Bass) in a typical Japanese ensemble size (8/6/4/4/3) suitable for small and large productions alike.

We began this project in 2019, setting out to work with the finest musicians, engineer, and scoring studio in Japan. Due to both the language barrier & COVID, we had to find the right partners to help manage the project overseas. We connected with some incredible collaborators who have been with us through every step of the journey: our Japanese distributors Crypton Future Media and Sonicwire, plus the renowned composer Masaru Yokoyama.

Mr. Yokoyama, in addition to running a music production company (MiracleBus) and orchestral recording contractor (PlugNote), has composed for over 100 Japanese films, dramas, and anime series, bringing invaluable experience to the project.

THE MUSICIANS

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Attack on Titan, Super Mario Odyssey, My Hero Academia, Final Fantasy XV, The Seven Deadly Sins, Fate/Grand Order, Octopath Traveler, Persona 5, Haikyuu, Xenoblade Chronicles, Tokyo Ghoul.

All of these incredible scores, and over 600 more, have one thing in common: Koichiro Muroya Strings, led by its eponymous founder, violinist Koichiro Muroya. Their exquisite playing can be heard soaring across genres ranging from quiet, emotional anime moments to epic hybrid tracks by composers like Hiroyuki Sawano. Not surprisingly, Muroya Strings is the most in-demand session ensemble in all of Japan - and we were truly honored to record them for this project.

THE ENGINEER

The sound of these blockbuster Japanese soundtracks is not just superb musicianship and technique. The approach to recording and mixing orchestral scores is fundamentally unique as well. That's why we were equally privileged to work with Japan's top engineer, Mitsunori Aizawa, who is responsible for recording & mixing hundreds of world-famous anime, film, TV and video game productions.

Mr. Aizawa is a frequent collaborator of composer Hiroyuki Sawano, and his work can be heard on soundtracks like Final Fantasy VII Remake, The Promised Neverland, Fruits Basket, Mobile Suit Gundam, Kill la Kill, Monster Hunter, Street Fighter V, and many of the same soundtracks listed above!

THE STUDIO

Of course, the final element in an unforgettable score is an incredible recording space. For that reason, Tokyo Scoring Strings was recorded at SOUND CITY. With a truly legendary 60-year history, SOUND CITY has been home to countless beloved recordings for albums and soundtracks alike.

Here are just a small handful of the artists & composers who have returned time and time again to record at SOUND CITY:

Joe Hisaishi, Yoko Kanno, Nobuo Uematsu, Hiroyuki Sawano, Yuki Kajiura, Masashi Hamauzu, Kenji Kawai, Kohei Tanaka, Tatsuro Yamashita, JAM Project, Yasunori Nishiki, Hiroki Kikuta, Miki Higashino, and Jackie Chan (yes, that Jackie Chan!).

Unlike the larger halls and studios of the U.S. and Europe, studios in Japan tend to be built smaller, with rooms that offer a full-bodied sound without excessive reverb tails. SOUND CITY is no exception, giving Tokyo Scoring Strings a tighter, more focused sound that lends itself extremely well to more agile playing.

THE LIBRARY

Tokyo Studio Strings will include a well-rounded set of core articulations captured at 24/96 with superb detail. You'll be able to write and mock-up a wide variety of parts from slow & intimate to aggressive & agile, with a particular focus on excellent legato and short notes.

To help record even more authentic performances over the 90+ hours of sessions, we developed some new sampling techniques specifically for this library based on our 11 years of experience. The results should speak for themselves!

We'll provide specific information about articulations, dynamics, RR, and more soon.

THE RECORDINGS

To give you maximum mix flexibility, the ensemble was captured with over a dozen mics, which have been mixed down to five stereo positions: Close, Decca, Side, Back, and Surround. We’ve also included a Board Mix which features Mr. Aizawa’s own console mix, and is an excellent, efficient way to get that authentic sound instantly.

The library will ship with our latest Console FX rack & mixer too, with built-in snapshots to give you a wide range of pre-mixed tones!

THE ENGINE

Tokyo Scoring Strings will feature a new Kontakt Player-based engine built from our “Agility” script (see our Ventus libraries to get an idea of what to expect).

That means you’ll have poly legato, microtuning, scale locking, and multi-part harmony generation out of the box!

But there’s much more in store here to help you get great results fast. For example, you’ll be able to use two modes of playing: “real-time” with low-latency, and “lookahead,” which adds a slight latency in exchange for more realistic and idiomatic playback.

You'll also be able to suit TSS to your workflow via our latest iteration of TACT (Total Articulation Control Technology) supporting totally custom articulation mapping using any combination of velocity, keyswitch, MIDI CC, note range, pedal, or even multiple rules at once.

WHEN!?

We're shooting for a release no later than Q3 2021, but watch this space - we've expanded our team solely to work on this project, and we're as excited about it as anyone!

As of this post we've just wrapped up principal recording, with over 90 hours of studio time logged, and one very tired Andrew.


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摘要翻译：


编制：8/6/4/4/3，中小型弦乐团
合作的顾问监制作曲家：横山 克
代表作：
电影：花牌情缘
电视剧：纯白、爱丽丝之棘
动画：君吻、荒川爆笑团、女王之刃、机动战士高达——铁血的孤儿
等100多部电影、电视剧及动画的配乐


录制乐团：
Koichiro Muraya Strings，室屋光一郎弦乐团
参与录制的配乐代表作品：
塞尔达荒野之息、进击的巨人、最终幻想15、异度神剑、女神异闻录5、马里奥奥德赛等名作

录/混工程师：
相泽光纪

演奏技法：
大概和CSS类似，基本覆盖日常90%的需求

提供5个话筒
官方说会提供贴近日式配乐的听感

引擎：
Kontackt Player
提供两种模式：一种是实时所弹即所得，低延迟；另一种是高延迟的预录模式，需要把整个音轨向前移动几个小节，由引擎根据midi音符去读取和运算决定使用哪种预录的演绎。
所有的技法、CC都可以自定义任何控制器来操控。

预计2021年第三季度发售

目前初步定价为399刀，首发优惠价是349刀

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如果连奏出色，听感贴近大家熟悉的日式动漫、电影、电视剧配乐的话，将会是一套很适合东亚音乐人的弦乐，做流行会比那些专门搞好莱坞配乐的音源更好。